The Royal Bachelor
by SoneaSelene
Summary: Modern-AU in style of "The Bachelor"   In which Arthur goes to find a wife and finds Merlin instead.
1. Prologue

**Pairings:** Merlin/Arthur, Morgana/?  
><strong>Rating:<strong> NC-17  
><strong>Warnings:<strong> slash (obviously), depression  
><strong>Summary:<strong> In which Arthur goes to find a wife and finds Merlin instead.  
><strong>Note:<strong> Ok, so this is a long shot. I've had this idea in my head for quiet some time and it's more or less laid out. I just don't have enough time to write -.- But when this semester is done (in a week) I'll hopefully be able to posting a chapter each week =)

„What am I even doing here?" Arthur wondered for the umpteenth time in the last hour. People around him were bustling around, preparing for "The Final Choice" or however everyone was calling it. A make-up-girl powdered his nose for the third time in a row while some guy from the dresses-department put in some more safety pins to ensure the suit he was wearing fit perfectly. The spotlights focused on him made him sweat like a crazy and just added to his foul mood. The make-up-girl came around again telling him to "stop sweating so much, you'll ruin your make-up". She was easy to say that, being able to get out of the burning lights and not being constantly told to do this, not to do that, to say this and not to say that. Arthur was done with it. He just wanted all of this to be over.

"Ten Minutes left, where are the flowers? Didn't I tell you to put flowers in that corner? Somebody get me those damn flowers!" the director shouted at no one in particular. Ten minutes until Arthur had to make a choice in front of the whole country. (Well, maybe not the whole country, but from what he had heard, "The Royal Bachelor" was the highest rating show right now.)

Ten minutes until he would break someone's heart. Someone he loved more than anything in the world. Someone he would never hurt if he had a choice. But he didn't have a choice. Someone else had made the choice for him. Someone he didn't even know. In a little bit more than ten minutes all eyes would be on him and everyone would wait for "his" choice: Guinevere or Mithian.


	2. Arthur: Christmas Trouble

**Note:** You've taken the bait and kept reading – I guess that's a good thing, right? I already love you for reading 3 Review pls?

xxxxxxx

Arthur Pendragon was sitting in his study, watching his father strolling through the snow-covered garden, when the letter arrived. It was December 20th and he was home from London to spend the holidays with his father and cousin in Camelot. Outside the sun was transforming the garden into a glistening world of ice and Arthur was glad for the warm fire crackling in the fireplace.

Although Camelot-Manor had central heating, the wide rooms with their height ceilings never seemed to really heat up. So when five years ago he was asked to decide on a room as his study, he had made sure to choose a room with a fireplace. His father had complained that he should have chosen one of the more spacious and extravagant rooms overlooking Camelot-City, but Arthur liked the small room and he especially liked the garden-view. London was always busy and hectic, so he enjoyed the calmness the garden emitted. He also liked the fact that he was able to watch his father work in the garden and walk the labyrinth-like paths that zigzagged through it. He wasn't sure his father knew that he was watching him and he would never admit it. Uther Pendragon was usually very tense and stern, but when he was in his garden, Arthur thought he caught a glimpse of the father he had been before Arthur's mother had dies. Ygraine had been the heart of Camelot and Uther had never been the same after she had died in a car-accident 15 years ago. To the outside he was still the strong leader and ruler of Camelot and one of the most powerful men in England. But behind closed doors he had emotionally withdrawn from everyone and more often than not had one too much glasses of red wine.

The maid knocking on the study's door interrupted Arthur's train of thought.

"Come in" he said, turning his back to the oversized window and walking back to his desk. The maid walked in and silently put the mail in front of him. She had to be new, because Arthur didn't recognize her. She quickly curtsied and started to leave.

"What's your name?" he asked. The girl stopped dead in her tracks but didn't turn around. Arthur watched the girl with confusion, while she stood in the middle of the room, eyes fixed to the ground, visibly breathing harder.

'Have I done anything wrong?' Arthur wondered, when the girl finally answered, her voice nothing more than a whisper: "Treya, my Lord".

He was uncomfortable with the whole situation and he didn't want her to be afraid of him. He stood up and walked over to where the girl stood.

"Treya, look at me" he said softly. She slowly raised her head and Arthur suddenly noticed that she was very young – fifteen, sixteen at most. "You don't have to be afraid of me" he continued. "You don't have to be afraid of anyone around here. Uth – my father can be harsh at times, but he doesn't mean it. How long have you been working here?"

The girl, Treya, still seemed cautious, but not as frightened as before. "It's my first week, sire" she answered. He had to smile at the way she called him 'sire'. "You don't need to address me like that. I'm Arthur."

She looked at him doubtfully "I know si- … sorry." She looked down again, biting her lip. Arthur still smiled and hoped this would make her more comfortable.

"Ok, Treya, I don't want you to be afraid anymore, ok? It's your first week, so you naturally will make mistakes, but that's fine. No one is going to punish you for that." She cringed at his last words, but looked up at him and gave him a wary smile.

"Thank you, si-, Arthur." Her smile got a little bit bigger this time. Arthur started to relax, now that the girl didn't seem to be afraid of him anymore. "I, I better go. I'm keeping you from your studies." She curtsied again and quickly left the room, leaving Arthur to his mail, not sure what he was to make of the whole encounter.

xxxxxxx

_Dear Mr. Pendragon,_

_We were delighted to hear of your interest in our next season of "The Bachelor: The Royal Bachelor". To properly involve you in the process from the very start, we would like to meet with you personally on January 23rdat 11PM in hour studio in London. Please call the number you find on the bottom of this letter to confirm the date and time._

_Enclosed you will find further information about the course of the show as well as the contract which will be signed during the above mentioned meeting._

_Once again, we are honoured assist you in finding the perfect Mrs. Pendragon for you._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Joan Singers_

Arthur stared at the letter in front of him. "For goodness sake, what is this?" he wondered out loud while he reread the last line. "Finding the perfect Mrs. Pen – MORGANA!" He stormed out of his study on search for the evil backstabbing creature that was his cousin. "MORGANA" he yelled again, clutching the letter in his right hand.

"What is it dear cousin? Was your tea cold again?" Morgana said sweetly after he had stormed into her sitting room, not even bothering to knock.

"This was you, wasn't it?" he snorted, holding the letter in front of her face. "Admit it, I know it was you! What in the name of – "

"Arthur, stop this. If you keep waving it like that, I will never be able to see what you are talking about!" she stopped him in his tracks. "Sit down and then you can continue yelling at me. But please stop waving this in front of my face!"

He obediently sat down on the large Victorian sofa opposite of her.

"Good boy" – Arthur shot daggered looks at her, which she, as usual, ignored – "now, what is it you think I did?" she asked. Arthur just threw the letter on the (also Victorian) coffee table between them. Upon looking at the sender, she could hardly contain herself from laughing out loud. But knowing Arthur and not wanting to hurt his feelings, she just snickered and continued reading.

"Don't try to deny it, Morgana! I know it was you. No one in their right mind would sign me up for something, let alone a TV show," – Arthur spat out the last words with open disgust – "without asking me beforehand. And I certainly did NOT 'tell them of my interest in their freaking show'!" he interrupted Morgana before she could even finish reading.

"Why do you make such a fuss about this?"

"I do-"

"You hardly ever swear, dear cousin, and you just did! So this tells me you either didn't have your morning tea or you are, for some reason not clear to me, upset by this little letter." Morgana explained.

Arthur leaned back in the sofa and continued glaring at her. As usual, her calm and calculated responses quickly let his anger evaporate and left him feeling stupid for being so short-tempered. Not that Morgana was always this calm, oh she could explode from one send to another and whoever was on the receiving end of her wrath was lucky to not be eaten alive. But most of the times, especially when Arthur was the one exploding, she kept her cool calm which on the one hand set Arthurs nerves to the edge even more, but on the other hand cooled his anger and helped him think straight.

"Ok, I admit it was me. Guilty as charged." Morgana mused, "But come on, this sounds like fun. The show is hilarious and Uther's been going on about you finding a suitable wife for ages."

"I just – "

"You haven't had a real relationship in what, two, three years? Those little flings of yours where you go out with a girl just to please Uther do not count. And he is right, you know. You do need someone. I know, I know, this isn't for me to decide, but I know you're lonely." Arthur thoughtfully watched his cousin, who had grown to be more like a sister to him since she had moved in with them 12 years ago.

"I am NOT lonely." he said sulkily. "I have Lance and my friends in London. And I don't have time for a girlfriend anyways. I have tons of exams coming up when I go back and there are all kinds of events my father wants me to attend and – "

"Darling you don't need to defend yourself. I'm pretty sure you're happy with your life in London – but it's going to be over soon. And don't tell me, you're not longing for someone to keep you warm in this bloody castle of ice." Morgana interrupted him once again.

Arthur sighed, capitulating. There was no point in arguing with his cousin. Especially concerning his love life. Ever since he had broken up with his last girlfriend, a nice but boring girl from his politics class, she had made it her goal to find the perfect girl for him. Why exactly that way, he wasn't sure, but he suspected, she was trying to compensate for her own lack of serious relationships.

"You're right, you're right, I'm not going to argue about this again. But for goodness sake – a TV show? I'm not that desperate, you know?"

"It's going to be so much fun. Which guy wouldn't want to have 10 girls fighting and drooling all over him?"

"I have not yet agreed, Morgana. And I don't think I will. All these girls want is to be on TV or worse, they imagine themselves as pretty princesses living in a big castle, never having to worry about money ever again." Morgana couldn't stop herself from laughing at the way Arthur mimicking the girls.

"Did you even look at the information they sent you?" she asked. "It's called "The ROYAL Bachelor" for a reason! First, the hotty-of-the-season – in this case you dear Arthur – is from a royal family and second, the candidates are as well. So no gold-diggers there." Arthur thought about that for a moment.

"And you really believe I will find the girl you're searching for in a TV show?"

"Arthur, I don't know. But why not give it a try? The show is supposed to start shortly after you're graduation, so time will not be an argument! At least consider it, ok?" He wasn't sure why he gave in, but the last year hadn't been easy for Morgana and he had never been able to resist her pretty-please-or-I'll-kill-you-smile. He sighed again and started to leave.

"Ok, I will consider it."

"Oh this is going to be splendid!" Morgana beamed.

"Morgana – I still have not said yes." he reminded her as he closed the door.

xxxxxxx

The holidays passed without any further interruption. Mordred had come home the day before Christmas and Morgana had spent as much time as possible with her son. She had even somehow coaxed him into building a snowman in the front garden. How she had done that, Arthur didn't know. But then again, Morgana herself changed whenever she was with Mordred. The usually sarcastic and reserved Duchess of Cornwell turned into the selfless and loving mother he was now watching.

Morgana had been 19 when she had gotten pregnant at one of the many parties she had been attending at that time. Four years after her parents' death she still hadn't found herself and spend her days shopping and her nights partying. Uther had been furious when he had found out. He had taken Morgana in because her mother Vivienne had been Ygraine's sister and Ygraine had always loved Vivenne's daughters. Morgause had been old enough to live on her own, but Morgana had still needed legal guidance. In the years that followed Gorlois and Vivienne's death, Uther had come to love Morgana despite her then rebellious self and she was like a daughter to him.

At first he had threatened to throw her out. Telling her she was ungrateful and a disgrace to the family. But after a week of not speaking with each other both had cracked and Arthur had found them arm in arm, crying and telling him they had decided to keep the baby. Luckily the media soon had forgotten about the "Worst Scandal in Cornwell's history" after some more or less royal someone had announced his wedding.

Mordred's birth had been the first positive event for them in years. Uther had even promised to not threaten to kill the child's father whenever he would come visit. Soon after, Morgana slowly started to take over her responsibilities as ruler of Cornwell and Arthur had gone to London to study politics and classical music (the latter against Uthers will).

Mordred had been three when he'd first shown signs of Aspergers, turning their lives upside down once again. Today, four years later, they all had learned how to deal with him and handle his tantrums, but it still wasn't easy for any of them – especially on Morgana and he admired her for her strength.

"So Uther, has Arthur told you about his plans to finally find a wife?" Morgana interrupted his train of thoughts, vanishing any sympathetic feelings he had felt only seconds ago. Uther looked up from the book he was reading.

"No he hasn't. Arthur?" Arthur shot a death-glare at Morgana and cleared his throat.

"Yes, well, it's nothing definite. It was just an idea."

"Arthur has decided to be part of a TV show called The Royal Bachelor, haven't you Arthur?" Morgana explained to Uther. Arthur wanted to strangle her right where she was sitting.

"You have decided to do what?" Uther asked blankly.

"I haven't decided ANYTHING!"

Arthur snaped while Morgana continued to explain: "Arthur will meet ten nice, royal, English girls and after getting to know each of them, decide on which is suitable to be the future Mrs. Pendragon."

Arthur expected his father to object vehemently, but instead of going on about publicity and the ridiculousness of it all, he just smiled and said: "So you have finally come to your senses. That's good." Arthur looked at him in disbelieve. Lately his father had acted more and more oddly and this just added to the long list Arthur was mentally keeping.

"So you don't think it's a bad idea to be in the centre of the media attention?" he asked. Morgana answered before Uther had a chance to do so.

"On the contrary. Arthur, the people need to see you. The people of Camelot need to know who their next ruler is going to be – and what better way to show them than on TV? Besides, think about the attention Camelot will get. It will do good to remind people of Camelot. You know how there have been less and less tourists coming here lately!"

Arthurs urges to strangle his cousin grew stronger by the minute. But she was – again – right. Camelot hadn't been in any kind of media a lot lately and tourism had declined. In the right circles Uther was still know to be one of the most influential people in the whole of England, nonetheless there trade had been declining as well. Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea to bring Camelot back to people's attention.

But then again, he wasn't sure if he was even ready to find the right person and if he was honest with himself, he knew that he was afraid of commitment. This didn't mean that he didn't feel lonely. Morgana had been right the other day – why did she always have to be right? The more time he spent in Camelot the more he yearned to have someone at his side. In London he busied himself with studying and his friends, which didn't leave much time for a relationship. Some of his friends had been in relationships for a while and he knew how stressful relationships could be. But he also knew that he sometimes envied them for having someone to come home to. Someone to talk to and to support you. Maybe Morgana was right about this as well. Maybe he did need someone. And maybe the show was exactly what he needed.

Arthur looked up to see Morgana watching him expectantly while Uther had gone back to reading his book.

"I know I will regret this, but… " - Morgana jumped up shrieking and hugged him tightly - "… you win. I will do it."


	3. Merlin: Not the perfect job

**Note:** Finally finished the 2nd chapter. I'm on vacation so maybe I'll finish the third one as well this week. Reviews are greatly appreciated. But now let me introduce to you, Mr. Merlin Emrys =)

xxxxxxx

Merlin Emrys looked around the apartment he had just entered with dismay. It was smaller than he had hoped it to be. The kitchen to his right could hardly be called a kitchen, as it was merely a stove with two cooktops and a small sink besides it. The rest of the room was occupied by two simple sofas around a small three-legged coffee table.

Gwaine entered the after him, dumping his bags on the spot, his look mirroring that of Merlin.

"One would think it couldn't get worse after Breckland." Gwaine grumped while he risked a look into the small bedroom to their left.

"Sweet, we have bunk beds. Harry Potter had more space in his cupboard under the stairs. Where do they even find hellholes like this?"

"At least it's clean and there are no cockroaches to be seen." Will said while he inspected the tiny bathroom.

Merlin sighed and sat down on one of the sofas. Will was right. The apartment was way too small for the three of them, but at least it was clean. The last apartment that they had been given in Breckland had constantly been visited by spiders, cockroaches and all other sorts of annoying insects. He shivered at the thought of it.

"What's for dinner?" Gwaine asked, plunging into the other sofa full length.

"Nothing, until you put your stuff away!" Will countered.

Merlin let his head fall back and closed his eyes. He already missed the tranquillity of his room in Bridgnorth. Spending the last two month with his uncle Gaius had been a nice change to Gwaine and Will's constant bickering. His mother had come to visit them for a week and he had been happy to see her. Gaius Ambrosius wasn't his real uncle, but as he was the closest he had to a father, Merlin had always called him "Uncle Gaius". When Merlin had been 18 his mother had send him to live with Gaius, thinking he'd there have a better chance at fulfilling his dreams than in his small hometown Ealdor.

He already missed the smell of a hundred different kinds of herbs that were always spread around Gaius apartment. Gaius had a small herb store under their apartment and he tended to dry the herbs upstairs. Merlin opened his eyes again, taking a deep breath. The apartment smelled old, adding to the overall impression. He would get through this. At least he had Gwaine and Will at his side – which at the moment were adding up who had gone grocery shopping how many times during their last assignment and who would have to go today.

"Oh will you two stop it? Can't you at least not argue on our first night here?" he glared at them.

Will stopped pacing and sat down besides Merlin. "You've missed us, haven't you mate?" he asked Merlin.

"How did I even survive without the two of you constantly yelling at each other?" Merlin replied sarcastically.

Gwaine jumped up from the sofa.

"You know you've missed us. Let's go out and find a pub to celebrate our pitiful lives. We can still go shopping tomorrow."

They all agreed and left the apartment in search of a place to drown their thoughts of weeks ahead.

xxxxxxx

Merlin didn't really like working on "The Bachelor". He wanted to film and direct movies; instead he was an underpaid assistant photographer for a mediocre TV show. He hated TV shows. Before this job he had liked one or two, but since he knew what was really going on behind cameras, he hated it. Unfortunately it was the only opportunity he had gotten to get close to filming and directing. He and Will both had applied for the job as a cameraman for UKTV - Will had gotten the job and Merlin had somehow ended up doing backstage photography. How that had happened, he still didn't know, although he suspected Will had his doing in it. Photography wasn't his passion, but it paid for his distance study classes. On top of this, he got to work with Will – and Gwaine whom they had met a year ago when he had started to work as a backstage worker of some sorts.

Merlin had decided that this would be his last season to work for UKTV. His studies in Film and Cinematography were nearly finished and he was tired of moving around to wherever the latest show of "The Bachelor" was being shot.

This time they were filming in a small town near Cardiff. The mansion for the Bachlor and the candidates was bigger and more pompous than the usual, because this time the Bachelor as well as most of the candidates came from royal families. Which only meant even more stuck up and posh people, Merlin thought gloomily. Didn't they have nice little exclusive parties where the royalties met and fell in love? Why on earth did they need to go on TV to "find" someone? Or maybe they just loved the publicity. Merlin didn't care for royal gossip. His girlfriend of two years, Freya, read a lot of these yellow press magazines and could go on about this highness and that prince for hours at a time. He would listen to it, because he loved listening to her. Freya – he missed her. They hadn't gotten a chance to see each other while he was in Bridgnorth. She had been on a trip to Germany, or Spain? He wasn't sure. Freya travelled a lot, as she was working as an assistant lawyer for an international company. In the beginning they had spent every free weekend together, but lately Freya had been less and less enthusiastic about flying to wherever Merlin was. She said she didn't have much time and had to work weekends as well. Merlin started to think that this wasn't a good sign for their relationship. But he still had hopes that when he stopped working for UKTV, he would be able to spent more time with her. He didn't want to lose her.

"Merlin stop dreaming and help me set up the camera over there."

Merlin looked up from where he was standing, staring at the mansion they were filming at.

"Coming" he told Geoffrey. Geoffrey was the main photographer for the show and he was Merlin's direct superior. Merlin liked working with him. He was about his uncle Gaius' age, but he always treated Merlin as an equal. Without Geoffrey allowing him to actually take photograph himself, he would have quit a long time ago.

"Put the camera over there, on that table. The girls will be here soon." Geoffrey informed him.

It was mid-May and they would start filming in two days. Today the candidates would be shown around the mansion and the upcoming procedure would be explained to them. They would also start taking photographs of the candidates so the marketing department could start plastering the subway stations and magazines.

Merlin always though how awkward it had to be to see his larger-than-life face everywhere you went. He'd already felt uncomfortable when his face had been in the local paper after he had won a film-competition at his school. Why anyone was keen on being followed by cameras all day he couldn't understand. He was glad to be the one behind the camera.

Filming was his true love, but he had grown to love photography as well. Geoffrey had allowed him to take some photographs of the scenery they had to shoot the last days. Merlin loved scenery shoots. Finding a beautiful spot and the right angle, figuring out the perfect lighting, maybe even coming back later, when the shadows were longer and the sun was bathing everything in orange light. Freya always mocked him for being such a romantic. But the setting sun wasn't just romantic. It also enabled him to take photos that left things in the shadows, leaving them unknown and to the viewer's imagination. Sometimes it was almost like magic. He loved this. Yesterday he had found a spot close to the woods behind the mansion where hundreds of dragonflies were whirring over a small pond. He had knelt down, focussing on the dragonflies but also on the mansion. The setting sun had made the whole scenery surreal, almost as if it hadn't been dragonflies but hundreds of fairies buzzing around, telling stories of days long gone.

Geoffrey hardly ever scolded him for wandering about. He only smiled and told him to not get too lost in his thoughts one day.

Today's shooting was going to be less fun as Geoffrey was taking the photographs and Merlin was just going to help with the equipment.

xxxxxxx

The shooting had gone well. Apparently royals were used to getting their pictures taken, so there hadn't been a lot of instructions to be made. Most of the girls had been surprisingly nice. Merlin was used to the candidates either being dumb or stuck-up. He'd thought that the royal candidate would be even worse. But only three of them fit that description. The others were polite and fun to work with. All of them were beautiful and Gwaine had more than once said that he wouldn't mind being there for them when "the royal prat" didn't want them.

Merlin usually just dismissed Gwaine's comments, but this time he was right. One of the girls, unfortunately Merlin had forgotten her name – Gwendolyn? Jenny? Something along that way – had immediately caught his eye. He had learned that she was one of the two girls who did not come from royal families but were there to "spice it up" as the directors had said. No one was to know which of the girls weren't royal, until the Bachelor would visit their families in the fifth episode.

But the girl was in no way inferior to the others. If anything, she was even more beautiful than them. Her dark brown curls had reflected the sun in a way that made her glow even more than she was already doing from within.

"Stop this" Merlin had reminded himself. "You have a girlfriend and you're happy with her!"

Today they would shoot with the "royal prat" as Gwaine always called the Bachelor. His name was Arthur Pendragon and he seemed to be the son of one of the southern dukes. Merlin had once read something about Uther Pendragon and he thought he had even seen a photograph of him and his son. But it had been a while ago and he didn't remember any of it.

Merlin just hoped that Pendragon Jr. wasn't too much of an ass. He had seen some of the previous Bachelors think they were the king of the world and knew everything. Shooting with them had taken hours because they wouldn't do what they were supposed to do and whined about every little thing. The current Bachelor should be used to having photographs taken of him – being royal and everything. But then, maybe he was used to having his royal ass wiped by everyone and expected all of them to do the same.

Twenty minutes before the shoot a black Jaguar drove up the driveway and parked in front of the mansion. Merlin was running an errand for Geoffrey and didn't give it much thought until he heard someone call out. "Hey, excuse me, do you know where the shooting is going to take place?" The man approaching him was about his own height and was wearing a grey jersey (probably cashmere) and light blue jeans. He was ridiculously good looking with his gold-blond hair sticking out everywhere, Merlin thought jealously. But then, if this really was who he thought it was, the man had all the money necessary to look good.

"Sorry to interrupt you, but I forgot to note down where I'm supposed to go and this place is huge. Oh, I'm Arthur, Arthur Pendragon or "The Bachelor" as everyone seems to be calling me." He held out his hand with a smirk.

"Uhm, hey. I'm Merlin. I'm just a lowly photographer's assistant. At least that's what my job description says."

The other man's smile grew wider. "Nice to meet you Merlin. I take it you know then, where I have to go?"

"He has a nice smile" Merlin thought. One, that looked natural and unforced. Maybe shooting with him wouldn't be as bad as Gwaine had made it look. "Sure" he said. Then he realized he had still to get Geoffrey his tea. "You, uhm, I need to get some tea from the kitchen. Do you want to wait here?"

"No, no, thank you. I'll some with you. Do you think I could get some coffee there as well? It's been a long drive."

"Yeah, sure. You're the Bachelor. They'll give you anything you want." The last words came out more sarcastically as Merlin had intended. But he only got a curious smile in return.

"Oh goodness. This is bound to get interesting." Arthur Pendragon muttered. They were on their way to the kitchen and Merlin thought that he was nothing like the prattish ass Gwaine and Will had described the other night. He was nice and easy to talk with.

"So, did you drive all the way from Camelot?" Merlin asked.

"Yes, and I need to head back there after the shooting. It's my nephew's birthday and Morgana will behead me if I'm not there." He laughed.

Merlin was surprised as to how openly the Royal was talking. If only he could remember who Morgana was. Gwaine had talked about her a lot – but only about her looks and not much about her connection to Arthur Pendragon.

"I'm sure the shoot won't take that long." He said instead.

They had reached to kitchen and after introducing the Bachelor he asked for tea and coffee.

"Do you live here as well?"

"No. All the staff lives in town. Only you, the candidates and some maids are living up here."

"So you move every time there's a new production?"

"Yeah, kind of. They give us a room in an Inn or something. But they don't spend half as much on our accommodations as they do on knick-knack to make this place look like a castle." Merlin said gloomily. They were walking to the back garden now, where the shoot would take place. "But I shouldn't complain. A job is a job, isn't it?" He smiled half-heartedly.

"You don't like it much, do you? Your job?" Arthur Pendragon asked earnestly.

"I –" Merlin stopped himself from speaking further. "I'm sorry Mr. Pendragon. I really shouldn't bother you with this. We're here by the way."

"It's Arthur. You can call me Arthur." He smiled his beautiful smile again. "And I'm not at all bothered."

Merlin smiled back. Then he saw the director approaching them, yelling "Mr. Pendragon, Mr. Pendragon, what an honour."

Arthur rolled his eyes slightly. "Duty calls I guess. It was nice meeting you Merlin. Hopefully I'll see you around."


End file.
